Today's generation of children will be the first to grow up with continuous exposure to social media, tablets and smartphones, leaving many parents concerned. A 2009 survey found that 42 percent of children have experienced cyberbullying or cyberstalking, and research from 2008 reported that 93 percent of boys and 62 percent of girls had viewed pornography online, most by the age of 13.

How can parents monitor what their children are seeing or who they're communicating with?

Advertisement

"It’s a significant challenge for modern parents to keep up manually with the number of texts, group chats, emails and social media posts that our children are sharing on a daily basis," Brian Bason, CEO of Bark, told us Wednesday.

"Some parents attempt to monitor their child’s activity by spot-checking their phones and reading their messages, but this is time-consuming, unlikely to be effective in surfacing real issues, and is an ongoing source of friction between a parent and their child," Bason explained. Instead, he suggests frequent, judgment-free communication. "The most important thing...is to have open conversations with children about those risks and how to stay safe online."

The Child Rescue Network, a nonprofit group based in Orlando, tells parents to limit how much time their children and teens spend on smartphones, tablets and computers. It also suggests tracking privacy settings on children's social networks to ensure that only friends can contact them.

"Talk to your kids about the dangers that exist online and make sure they know to tell you if anyone ever makes them feel uncomfortable," the organization said. "Make sure they know it is not their fault if someone reaches out to them and they won’t get in trouble when they tell you about it."

It's also important to remember that computers aren't the only places where children face dangers.

"'Online' is much more than spending time on the computer. Now smart phones and even video games are completely connected to the outside world," the nonprofit group said.